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'I'm not going to slacken in regard to trying to solve the major problems.' Obama says. AP PhotoClose

President Obama says he’d still rather have one good term than be a “mediocre” two-term president.

Getting reelected is “not what I think of my work,” Obama told the Spanish newspaper El Pais. “The description of my work I do is to solve problems and help people. I'm not going to slacken in regard to trying to solve the major problems facing the United States.”

“I still believe it is better” to be a good one-term president than a “mediocre” two-term leader, Obama said in the interview.

Obama added: “I do not want to have to look back and tell myself that all of what worried me was my own popularity. That is not my goal. My obligation is to make sure I'm faithful to the principles, beliefs, ideas that will advance the United States and strengthen our partners around the world.”